What goes up must come down
by Kangelane
Summary: [Chapter 10 - The weakest link] Oliver Queen was defeated by Ra's al Ghul on top of that snowy mountain. As his team back in Starling City struggle to find their missing friend, Oliver has lost something precious too: his memory.
1. Chapter 1 - Awakening

**Author's note:**

_When I finished watching "The Climb", I needed – like many others – an immediate continuation. So the minute the episode concluded, I began writing this. __Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 1 - Awakening**

Everything was white and cold. Then there was pain; loads of it. The smell of blood followed suit. A push and the sensation of falling. A collision and even more pain as the world turned black...

–––––––––––––

The man's eyes snapped open. The room spun uncontrollably for a moment before steadying slightly, stabilizing just enough for the man to briefly scan his vivid surroundings. Laying on his back on a cold hard surface, the first thing which came into focus was the uneven rocky roof, very much resembling that of a cave. Somewhere nearby he could hear dripping water. His nostrils detected smoke and in the corner of his eyes he spotted a burning torch. A shadow passed swiftly in front of the illuminating source, but vanished out of sight just as fast as it came.

Feeling soar and stiff, the man carefully tried to move, but he stopped himself as a sharp pain made itself known in his abdomen. A hissing gasp escaped his lips as his hands found the spot that ached the most. His fingers discovered fabric tightly wrapped around his middle section. Glancing down he saw it was bandages. He wore no shirt - strangely enough wholly comfortable with that - and could therefore stunned take notice of the great number of scars and tattoos covering most parts of his upper torso, which he could presently see. His thoughts were interrupted however by the presence of someone nearby.

"Don't rush it... You'll reopen your wounds."

Turning his head in the direction of the sound, he couldn't find the source of the statement, but the female voice echoing throughout the caverns was still vaguely familiar. The young man frustratingly had to accept that he couldn't place it however.

When he allowed himself to think about it... he couldn't remember much at all!

Had he been in some sort of accident? Had he been mugged? Had someone tried to murder him? What was the thing with all the scars? Did the tattoos mean something? How did he get here? Where _was_ here? How long had he been out? How, where, why, who, when, what and every other interrogative in existence spun around in his mind; only creating billions of more questions than answers.

But there was one specific piece of knowledge which frightened him the most – or to be more precise – the lack of it.

With panic reflecting slightly in his eyes he lifted his hand to eyelevel and studied it with great care. Running it through the little hair he possessed, he asked – out loud – the question he never thought he would have to ask himself.

"Who... Who am I...?"

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**A/N: **_Just wanted to say that I love reviews and in case you leave one; please be gentle with the criticism! ^^__  
_


	2. Chapter 2 - Emptiness in Starling City

**Chapter 2 - Emptiness in Starling City**

Felicity Smoak had just entered the Lair together with John Diggle, Roy Harper and a mug of hot chocolate when it happened.

From out of nowhere, a large emptiness filled her up from inside. It was as if someone had sucked out all oxygen from the room, leaving nothing for her to breath into her lungs. She froze in shock; dropping the full glass, which fell slow-motion-like from her limp hand towards the floor, where it collided with the massive concrete and shattered into a billion tiny shards.

This nasty emotion grew stronger and stronger by the minute, completely consuming her. Felicity didn't even realise that both men in her company had grabbed hold of her in support – as she swayed dangerously – and both were desperately trying to get a response from her. But she simply stared blankly into the air; mind somewhere else and eyes not focusing on anything.

A single tear escaped her eye and made its way down her rosy cheek.

As John started shaking her right arm while simultaneously yelling her name, she finally took notice of the two worried faces in front of her. But as her gaze travelled between them, her eyes stopped in between and instead fell onto the rack usually storing the Arrow suit.

"Oh no... Something must have happened to Oliver! I can feel it! It's like we've established this connection lately – almost like the Force in Star Wars. Well, it's not exactly like the Force, but-" She stopped at the confused stare the other two gave her. "Emn… You don't know Star Wars? Science Fiction, lightsabers, Jedi, Sith, a mechanically unreliable spaceship, good against evil: that thingy…? NO?! Gosh, you two must live on Vulcan or something... But no time for a lecture about that now! This connection between us... I can't… I can't feel it anymore!" At the end of all her ranting, Felicity's knees suddenly buckled wholly beneath her and if it hadn't been for the support, she would have hit the ground hard; not having enough strength anymore to remain standing.

She broke down in fresh sobs as Diggle gently lowered her down onto the floor. Roy had grabbed a nearby blanket and more or less flung it over her shoulders. Both lads then tried their best to assure her it was only the stress and anxiety getting to her, but she would hear none of it.

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Felicity exclaimed more powerful than any of the two had ever heard her do prior. "It felt like he fell and called out one last time, before being silenced into an inhuman silence, and-"

That was when Roy's cellphone rang, representing a grateful momentarily distraction. He picked it up from his jeans pocket and as the display read 'THEA' he answered.

"Hey, what's up?" A pause. "No, he's not here, what-" Roy was cut of. A few seconds later he paled while his eyes immediately found Felicity's; staring disbelievingly at her like he'd just seen a ghost. "I'll... I'll tell Oliver to call you the second I see him. Yeah, promise. Yeah, bye."

Roy hung up with a short beep. He and Felicity hadn't broken their eye contact as he disconnected the call.

"That was Thea. She just had a really bad feeling about Oliver. The same type of feeling she had that day when the yacht sunk about 8 years ago..."

A gasp escaped Felicity's lips before everything went eerily quiet. The silence was so dense you could cut it with a knife.

Diggle however was quickly the first to break it.

"Guess we'll have to find out ourselves what happened to Oliver. One way or the other..."


	3. Chapter 3 - Don't make me choose

**Chapter 3 - Don't make me choose**

Thea was being bored to death. She sat in the fluffy sofa watching some boring soap opera on the plasma-TV, when the doorbell rang. She was more than happy to switch it of with the remote control, and instead curiously stride over towards the entrance.

Not expecting anyone in particular, she took a quick glance in the mirror as she passed it to check that she looked respectable enough to greet whoever the guest might be; a neat trick she had unconsciously copied from her mother.

Twisting the doorknob and allowing the door to swing open, the individual behind it wasn't anyone she would have guessed.

"Dig?" She sounded genuinely surprised. "Emn... Hi! What's up?"

The man had a stoic facial expression, which was very hard to interpret; almost like he had managed to block his face from emitting any types of emotions other than calmness and self-control.

"Can I have a quick word?" he asked, but his tone sounded a bit more demanding than inquiring.

Despite this, Thea politely stepped aside and welcomed him inside the apartment; her now permanent home. Once the door was closed behind them both, the visitor went straight to the point of his visit.

"Thea, do you know where Malcolm Merlyn is right now?" he questioned bluntly. Before she could lie about not knowing her fathers whereabouts, John quickly added, "I know he's alive and it's very important that I speak to him. It's... regarding Oliver."

Her face had at first transformed from curious to furious, but hearing the last part made her completely pale and the rage was immediately replaced by worry.

"What about Ollie and my father? What's happened?"

Diggle just remained silent. Thea tried to request an answer – multiple times – but John had his poker face firmly in place, so he didn't even move a muscle at her attempts to break him. When her tries proved unsuccessful, she completely lost her calm and started exclaiming all the feelings she had built up inside of her during a very long time.

"I'M TIRED OF PEOPLE KEEPING SECRETS FROM ME! MY ENTIRE FAMILY HAS ALWAYS KEPT ME IN THE DARK ABOUT THINGS! DON'T YOU DO THE SAME NOW! TELL ME WHAT'S HAPPENED TO MY BROTHER!"

The man simply tilted his head and studied her as she had her sudden outburst, but he still didn't say a word. It looked like her words had magically broken through John's façade however, because his face changed and to Thea's surprise he turned away from her and – by the looks of it – paced towards the exit.

As she was just about to remind him about the rudeness of his behaviour, Diggle stopped in front of the Christmas tree. He slowly raised one hand and carefully looked at one of the Christmas ornaments. Thea slowly walked up next to him and saw that it was the one bearing her brother's name. Glancing up at his face, she suddenly realised there were tears glistering in John's eyes.

Diggle startled himself. This wasn't like him. His unbreakable stone face is legendary, but still it had suddenly been taken over by emotions.

How could Thea; the sweetest of girls, have become such a different person in such a short period of time? John somehow blamed himself for this, even if he knew he shouldn't.

Some secrets are meant to be broken and revealed, while others aren't. Oliver's belong in the second category. Even if Dig would like to tell Thea everything, it would put her in a very dangerous position and he couldn't do that to her.

Being brought back to the present, John tried to discreetly whip away the tears, hoping that Thea didn't see, although he sensed that she already had. He then silently cleared his throat to be able to go on.

"Thea – Oliver left Starling a short while ago and we have no idea what's happened to him after that, nor where he went. But both you and Felicity had this bad feeling around the same time, so... We need to find him. Now. The only person who knows his current location is Malcolm Merlyn. Thea, please... Do this for your brother."

She was taken back. Dig had always seemed like such a strong and somewhat cold individual to her, even if he had a great sense of humour from time to time. But this sensitive and caring side was all news to her.

John saw an on-going battle taking place in her eyes, and he could sense her trying to decide what option she should take: to tell or not to tell.

When she at last replied that she was sorry, but didn't know what he was talking about and that her father was dead, Dig knew she'd decided to go for the latter and not speak about this subject with him. Thea wouldn't sell out her father.

Diggle had hoped she would come through - for Oliver's sake - but even that seemed like a lost cause now. Before John exited the flat the way he came, he made a statement, which would haunt Thea forever on.

"So you choose your father before your brother... Thea, if you're as tired of secrets as you claim, then you should definitely stay away from Merlyn." Thea began arguing, but was cut of. "DON'T YOU DARE DEFEND THAT MAN! He's given _you_ a death sentence, which _your brother_ – the bravest and most caring man I have ever known – has taken in _your_ place. So don't you DARE stab your own brother in the back! Not now when Merlyn is responsible for everything bad that's currently happening, while Oliver seemingly has made the ultimate sacrifice; given his own life for yours!"

With those final words John slammed open the door and furiously stormed away leaving a shocked Thea behind. Her latest conversation with Oliver automatically replayed in her mind; her brother's final words to her.

_There's nothing that I won't do to protect you._

_What does that mean? _

_It means I love you, no matter what..._


	4. Chapter 4 - Rohe' Nool

**Chapter 4 - Rohe' Nool**

_Who... Who am I...? _

"I can answer that for you." a dark voice spoke up. The young man's neck jerked to the left as another much older man approached; wearing what looked like some sort of black cloak. "My name is Ra's al Ghul... and your name is Rohe' Nool."

"Ronnie Pool...?" the youngling asked confused.

"Not quite..." the other replied, sounding slightly amused. "First part is spelled R-O-H-E-apostrophe. Last part is N-O-O-L. Rohe' Nool."

"Rohe' Nool..." The young man tried to repeat it a couple of times, but somehow it still felt wrong on his tongue. "Are you sure that's really my name?"

"Certainly." Ra's al Ghul confirmed. "But maybe you're more accustomed to hear the English translation; the Green Arrow."

"Arrow...?"

Suddenly multiple images flashed in front of his eyes, as if that single word had triggered a flood of memories.

**_So you're the Arrow..._**

**_The vigilante._**

**_...so I've always been a killer?_**

**_The Arrow. Lieutenant, I know he's breaking the law..._**

**_What are you doing?!_**

**_...forged me into a weapon... _**

**_I find the person, and then I put the fear of God into them._**

**_YOU HAVE FAILED THIS CITY!_**

**_...because I know Oliver Queen is the Arrow._**

**_OLIVER!_**

He gasped as he emerged back to the present. Taking way to short breaths, he tried to calm himself by inhaling deep numerous times while processing what he just saw. All that violence, blood, bodies... Was he really responsible for all that? Were all these scars on his body mere reminders of someone fighting for their life? Lives, which _he_ seamed to have taken without any trace of mercy or remorse?

"Who is Oliver... Oliver Queen?" he carefully asked at the same time as he locked eyes with Ra's al Ghul. The latter sighted.

"Seems like you still remember parts of your previous life; from before you were reborn-"

"Reborn?"

"Yes. You died, but were allowed back to have a second chance. I will explain everything when you're stronger. But right now you need to rest and heal your wounds." The younger started to ask about that explanation immediately, but he wouldn't get it. "We have all time in the world. First priority is your full recovery. I'll explain everything after you've rested."

Oliver Queen - or Rohe' Nool as his new name apparently was - answered with a stiff nod. Then he allowed himself to relax and temporarily drift away into a heavy sleep.

As soon as the youngling had dozed of, Ra's al Ghul turned to a masked figure who appeared out of the shadows.

"He still remembers. Give him a larger doze." he ordered.

"I've already given him double the usual-"

"Then double it again!" he hissed in response. "Next time he awakens, he shall have no memory – what so ever – of Oliver Queen, or it will be the last mistake you'll ever do..."

The person made a nervous bow, quickly approached the younger sleeping man and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear liquid. As the content was emptied into the man's system, Ra's al Ghul smirked.

"This is the day Oliver Queen cease to exist... and the day when Rohe' Nool was born."

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**A/N:** _The name "Rohe' Nool" is my own invention. It originates from the Estonian "Roheline nool" which means "Green Arrow"._


	5. Chapter 5 - Lies, lies and more lies

**Chapter 5 - Lies, lies and more lies**

Thea stood frozen. Dig's words still rang in her ears. _She_ had a death sentence on her head, set by her own father? That couldn't be true!

The person who held the answers fittingly enough appeared that very moment on her balcony; fully dressed in black accompanied with bow and arrows. He pushed aside the sliding door and entered. Removing his disguise, which he used to hide his face, he then placed a supporting hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"Thea, are you alright? What did he want?" Malcolm Merlin asked while scanning the apartment.

"Where is Ollie?" his daughter replied coldly, without looking back at her father. "...and is someone out to kill me?"

Silence filled the room. Malcolm looked taken back by the questions, and instead of providing answers he began asking his own.

"What... Thea, what did he-"

"NO MORE LIES! TELL ME THE TRUTH!" she exclaimed so loud and sudden that her father jerked slightly out of surprise and took a step back.

"Thea, if I'm gonna tell you, you must promise me one thing. That you let me tell the whole story without ANY interruptions or questions until I've finished. Agreed?"

She crossed her arms in disagreement, but still nodded reluctantly for him to go on.

Malcolm then began talking; explaining about his previous involvement with the League of Assassins, how they wouldn't stop searching for him until he was dead and how he had made Oliver take care of the problem, so that the two of them would be able to return to a normal life without anyone wanting them dead.

Up until the point when he had mentioned Oliver, Thea almost sympathized with her father, and even began to wonder if she had rushed to judgement about his motives, based only on Diggle's words.

But that of course was when the horrific revelations began.

"-so at this moment Oliver is at a neutral place, facing a trial by combat with the Demon. When he comes out of it victorious, we will be able to live our lives like an ordinary family again. I'm afraid I knew Oliver would not go through this for me alone however, so I gave your brother the motivation necessary to triumph, by having the League coming after you as well. I guess this will be the hardest part for you to accept, but... You're wanted by the League because you murdered their member Ta-er al-Sahfer. That was her name in the League, but you know her as Sara Lance."

Thea had to stop herself multiple times from physically attacking her father during his tale, even though she knew she would definitely lose a one-on-one with him. But when hearing this last piece of information, a large black hole appeared in the pit of her stomach.

"Whatever they think I did, they are all mistaken. I haven't murdered anyone in this _League_ your talking about! Especially not Sara!" Thea snapped back at her father.

Merlyn sighted while he picked up his mobile. After pressing a couple of digits on the keypad he handed it over to his daughter.

Thea couldn't believe her eyes as she saw a recording of herself firing arrow after arrow into the Canary's stomach until the woman plunged of the rooftop.

"H-how-" she stuttered in shock.

"I used a specific drug containing a substance, which made you open to suggestions. You don't remember any of it, but you did it. You killed Sara." Malcolm stated.

Thea didn't know what to do, so she started to pace back and forth. Oliver's words once more came back – haunting her.

_I love you, no matter what..._

_...no matter what..._

He knew. Her brother _knew_ she had murdered someone so close to him, but still he would risk his own life for hers. Tears pricked in her eyes, as she turned back to face her father, staring with hatred in her eyes on the one person she thought had stopped lying to her.

"I TRUSTED YOU! BUT YOU'VE LIED TO ME! AGAIN! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Thea screamed with pure poisonous loathe in her voice.

"Thea-"

"NO! I FORGAVE YOU FOR SO MUCH; LIKE THE UNDERTAKING AND FOR KILLING PEOPLE, BUT I WILL _NEVER_ FORGIVE YOU FOR DOING THIS TO MY BROTHER AND ME! I HATE YOU!"

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she escaped out of the apartment, running towards the only comfort she could think of in the absence of her brother; Roy.


	6. Chapter 6 - Arsenal

**Chapter 6 - Arsenal**

Roy had been a loner long periods of his life. To stride around the city by himself suited him, as it provided time for him to have some me-time and think. He had always thought of it to be his personal sanctuary.

Until this day, that is.

Because staking out the city all by himself – when he usually has a green shadow to compete over the rooftops with – isn't very fun. The lack of companionship at a time like this also leaves room for way too many thoughts to run amok and draw up images in his mind; scenarios he don't want to see.

His mind wouldn't stop thinking about Oliver.

Roy's thoughts were momentarily shifted, as he had to stop two kids from mugging an old lady of her purse. The two were easily stampeded however, leaving him with the dame who happily told Roy about her appreciation of his actions. The 85-year-old woman then remembered she was late to her date with an older gentleman she met on the bus the other day, so she hurried along. Roy smiled as she vanished down the alley muttering about how she would bring her cane next time, and any other crook messing with her wouldn't stand a chance.

He was just about to mount the closest building when his phone vibrated. For the second time that day, he picked it up and the display read 'THEA'.

"Hey, I-" his stomach dropped as he was greeted by sobs from the other end of the line. "Thea – what's happened!? Where are you?" He could make out what he thought was the word 'Verdant' before she sobbed uncontrollably again. "You're at the club? I'm on my way!"

Unfortunately neither Felicity nor John were at the Arrowcave; the first was at her 'real' work at Palmer Industries and the latter had gone to have some father-daughter time with baby Sara, which was well deserved after his confrontation with Thea earlier. Luckily Roy had been on the right side of town, so he himself was mere minutes away.

After breaking numerous speed limits on his bike, he arrived back at the lair, threw of his red Arsenal-suit and went up to find Thea. He didn't need to search hard though; he could simply follow the sound.

She had collapsed inside the supply-room. As Roy opened the creaking door, her face shot up; revealing her wet face. Her make-up had since long been smudged out all over her face by tears.

Almost before the boy could react, the sad girl had flung herself around his neck and sobbed into his shirt.

It took a while for Roy to get any coherent information. At first all he got was names and words like 'Ollie... Dig... Sara... fault... League... dead... Dad... Laura... video... Arrow...'. When the pieces of the puzzle started to come together, and he realised she had been told about the identity of Sara's murderer, Roy could begin to comfort her.

"It's not your fault." he spoke gently while stroking her soft hair. "Sara's death is only on your father. You didn't know what you were doing. No one blames you."

"B-but Dig... He said-"

"He probably said something which he now regrets. What you must understand about John is that he's an extremely caring fellow, which only a very few people know. So when someone he cares about is in danger, he can sometimes let his emotions get the better of him. Approximately the same way as you are doing now."

Thea glanced up in surprise and was met with that smirk which only Roy can give people. She whipped her tears away with the back of her hand and had to smile back – that smirk of his _always_ made her smile.

They sat quietly for a while, listening to the sound of the ventilation system buzzing above them.

It suddenly struck Roy that he didn't want to be alone anymore. There was a time when he had craved for it, but now he didn't wanted the loneliness anywhere near him. He didn't want to lose Thea again. This time, there would be no more lies between them.

He rose, offering Thea his hand. She took it and was pulled up.

"Thea, you know that I love you." Roy spoke slowly, while staring deeply into her eyes. "I don't want to keep anymore secrets from you."

With that said, he led her along. They reached the door to the basement, which was said to be impossible to open. Roy easily unlocked it and guided her down the stairs into the dark room. As they reached the bottom, he turned on the lights.

Thea gasped as the room illuminated. Weapons, training equipment, several computer-screens... The place was filled with things, which she only could connect with two individuals.

In his rush to get to Thea, Roy had dumped his Arsenal-suit in a red heap on the floor. He strode over to it and picked it up. Turning back to Thea, he handed the mask over.

"I guess you've suspected a lot of this, but I want to confirm it for you." he half whispered, before taking the reminder of the suit to its usual storing area.

Thea glanced at the red mask in her hands. She had indeed known about Roy's part in this vigilante-group for quite a while. Now she also knew the identity of the Canary – or more correctly – the now deceased Sara. She walked up to Roy and gently placed the mask on his face.

"So you are Arsenal. Sara was the Canary. Dig – and most likely Felicity too – seem to be involved in all this." She counted them all on her fingers and received a nod in response for every single one. "Does that make my brother the Arrow?"

Roy looked over towards the empty rack and nodded once more.

"Oliver would probably be pissed if he knew I told you abou-"

"But you didn't! I figured it out by myself." she replied proudly, adding a cocky smirk.

"You're right." he smiled warmly back at her. "You should know that he only kept all this a secret from you for one reason. Whenever he has shared it with someone else in the past, they've almost always been hurt or died. He couldn't see the same happen to you. That's why he kept you out of this; to protect you."

"That definitely sounds like my big overprotecting brother…" she stated before allowing her mind to wander away to wherever her brother currently was. "Don't worry, Ollie... We will find you."


	7. Chapter 7 - An overheard conversation

**Chapter 7 - An overheard conversation**

Ra's al Ghul had never met a greater opponent in a trial by combat than Oliver Queen had proved to be. It had been a real waste killing him, but a trial was a trial.

Immediately after the battle had taken place, he had sent Nyssa to notify his friends and family in Starling City of his demise. But only a couple of hours after she got there, she sent word back through Sarab that she had overheard a conversation.

A conversation, which changed _everything_.

Oliver's sister had claimed _she_ was the person who killed Ta-er al-Sahfer. That her father had drugged _her_ into committing the murder.

When these news reached Ra's al Ghul, he immediately ordered Sarab to bring Queen's body back. The latter found the lifeless man lying on a snowy ledge not too far beneath the place where he fell, but he had still suffered some additional injuries from the high drop. The snow had begun to drift over him; covering large parts of his body, except for the right arm and leg, which dangled out dangerously over the abyss below.

Despite being out in the cold for a long time, Sarab still miraculously managed to find a faint beating pulse fighting desperately to keep the blood circulating in his veins. Being stranded outside together with the coldness had done one positive thing: it had prevented Oliver from bleeding out, despite the massive damage he had sustained. The boy was apparently quite the survivor, as he had somehow managed to cling onto life despite the poor circumstances.

The three helpers Sarab had brought along assisted in the transportation back. It was a time demanding and tricky climb, but they managed to return to Nanda Parbat with the unconscious Oliver Queen.

Ra's al Ghul had in the meantime been given some time to think. In his mind there were two different ways to go on from here, if Queen proved to be alive. The first option was to allow him to wrongfully die in his sister's place just like he had wanted (a solution which Nyssa would never accept). The second was to try and save him – by any means necessary. Being a man of honour, the latter option quickly turned out to be the only option in Ra's al Ghul's mind.

As the League travel the world, they try to bring back as much knowledge as possible from their journeys, especially to help in areas involving healing. In the past they had found many herbs and serums, which had proved efficient and could help cure even the deepest of wounds, if treatment was given fast enough; a very suitable knowledge in this line of business.

The woman responsible for the healing tried everything they had on the badly injured kid. At first it seemed like he was beyond rescue – that they had been to late to bring him back to life. But very slowly the healing process seemed to take effect; the first sign was when the wounds coagulated and began closing up.

This beginning of the recovery gave Ra's al Ghul another dilemma. Thea Queen was the killer and Oliver was willing to die for her by hiding the truth and take the blame himself. What would prevent the young fool from trying something similar, when justice needed to be served this time? The older brother simply would not allow any harm to come to his sister. There was the option of detaining him until the deed was done, but that wouldn't lead to a very bright future for neither the League nor Oliver Queen. Ra's al Ghul had to convince the latter to see things his way.

That was how the whole idea suddenly bloomed out in his mind.

Merlyn had drugged his daughter into doing his bidding. Should Ra's al Ghul be able to do the same, but improve the whole concept to be everlasting?

To have Queen become part of the League would mean a strong new ally. He had managed to survive a stabbing, a great fall followed by abiding injured for a long time in the cold winter. All this showed the massive strength and willpower the young man possessed.

The serum Merlyn had used on his daughter apparently was limited, with only a temporary effect. However, Ra's al Ghul had a while back been brought a serum from Australia. When it was tested it bore many resemblances to the effects of the Votura plant, as it also made the subject extremely susceptible to suggestion, but the effects didn't seem to wear of at all. The test subject who received it was still under its influence the last time he checked, which was over five months after being injected with the first and only dose.

Applying that serum in combination with another that whipped away one's memories completely would be the recipe to make Oliver Queen see things his way.

This was the moment when the Demon decided that he should do all in his power to ensure Oliver Queen became a part of the League – permanently.


	8. Chapter 8 - Assassination initiated

**Chapter 8 - Assassination initiated**

When Oliver came around once more in the cave, his eyes looked dazed and foggy. His wound didn't seem to bother him at all anymore, because it had now been weeks since his last conscious period.

He immediately sat straight up without any problems and begun studying his surroundings. Spotting an individual who stood hidden amongst the shadows watching him, Oliver immediately jumped to his feet and placed himself in a defensive position.

"Who are you? I can see you're there. Show yourself!" he demanded.

The older man dressed in black emerged from the darkness.

"My name is Ra's al Ghul. Great to see your quick recovery. Do you remember what happened?" the man asked. Oliver stared at him but remained silent; deep in thoughts. "Does the word 'Arrow' mean anything to you?"

No recognition sparked in Oliver's eyes this time. Ra's al Ghul even tested if the younger man recognized his real name 'Oliver Queen', but his face still remained expressionless and nonresponsive

"I have a feeling I'm fond of arrows..." the youngling finally replied slowly, almost as if the words were pulled one by one out of his mouth. "But I have no memory of a person going by that name you said. Should I have?"

"No. I didn't expect you to, just wanted to check so I don't tell you things you already remember." Ra's al Ghul explained; feeling satisfied that the memory-serum seemed to have worked flawlessly this time. "Oliver Queen was a close friend of yours. You resembled each other so much that people often confound the two of you for one other. Unfortunately, he chose to betray the League and also tried to kill you. You had a fight on top of a mountain. Oliver was defeated and didn't make it. You managed to survive the battle, but suffered a nasty hit to your head as you fell from a ledge. I'm afraid it's not likely your memories will ever return." He laid a supportive hand on Oliver's shoulder. "There are only two things of importance that you need to remember. Your name is Rohe' Nool and you've always been a part of us; the League of Assassins."

As he finished the sentence, loads of people slowly walked into the cave-like room; all dressed entirely in black and with faces hidden. One by one they removed their disguises and took turns to come over and introduce themselves. Rohe' didn't recognize anyone except one man – who he guessed originated from somewhere in Asia – going by the name of Sarab. Why this individual seemed familiar when no one else did was beyond him. The two locked gazes for a minute, but didn't have a chance to interact further.

"Nothing pleases me more than to have our brother Rohe' Nool back amongst us." the Demon declared to the gathered crowd. "The betrayal and loss of Oliver Queen is still fresh in mind, but we have another matter which must be dealt with immediately."

A short break followed, just long enough for the listeners to inhale some of the respectful silence lingering in the air, but still not lose interest.

"Word has been sent from Nyssa, who headed back to Starling City a couple of weeks ago. She was to inform Oliver Queen's friends about his demise, but instead she overheard a conversation. It has come to her attention that Oliver Queen wasn't really the one who murdered Ta-er al-Sahfer. He took the blame for his sister's deed. Her father,Al Sa-Her, had drugged her into committing murder. Even if the girl claims to have no memory of it, she used the bow to commit the murder. Both father and daughter must pay the ultimate price – losing their lives."

Approving murmurs echoed throughout the chamber, before a quiet hush was ordered from the leader.

"Rohe' Nool – you and Sarab must go to Starling City. Converge with Nyssa and take out the Magician and his daughter. Only then will the soul of Ta-er al-Sahfer get peace."

Rohe' mirroring the Asian man across the room by bowing slightly. Sarab than turned to his partner, telling him to follow. The pair left the rest of the crowd behind and went to a nearby room to grab their gear. Then they took of.

Their mission: to murder two murderers.


	9. Chapter 9 - Sinceriously

**Chapter 9 - Sinceriously**

Felicity moaned in frustration.

Three weeks. Three whole weeks and not a single trace of Oliver. It was as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.

The search for this mountain – where his combat should take place – proved equally unsuccessful. There existed no documentation of any previous cases of a trial of combat in any of the numerous databases Felicity had hacked. Oliver had mentioned a time period of 67 years since the latest had occurred, but apparently the event and its outcome was a secret shared only amongst members of the League.

From time to time Felicity also felt a sting of frustration towards Roy boiling up inside of her. When she and John had returned to the Lair, only to find Roy together with Thea there, Felicity had snapped. Felicity and Roy had quite a heated argument about the fact that he had told Thea _everything_, even though the latter claimed that she had most of it already figured out long before Roy showed her.

The thing, which kept gnawing inside Felicity, was that sharing this secret with Thea was something Oliver had strongly opposed. Therefor it was clearly a type of betrayal in Felicity's eyes to have his sister joining them so soon after her brother's disappearance. Felicity had actually screamed herself hoarse in the process of scolding Roy to the very maximum, while he in turn had kept his cool by clenching his fists so hard that his fingernails had dug deep cuts in his palms.

One argument however had settled their dispute. Felicity sort of agreed with Roy's decision – at least temporary – on one point. It was that sharing this secret with Thea now had drawn her further away from Malcolm Merlyn, which was something Oliver would definitely have wanted.

The four of them also shared a common goal: to find Oliver. That mutual target proved to slowly unite the group. It mended the broken trust Thea had in the three of them, but also the lack of faith the rest had in Thea.

As these weeks had slowly passed by, Felicity even had to admit that Thea had proven herself very useful and helped out anyway she possibly could. She had even reluctantly returned to her father to demand information about the mountain Oliver was headed to.

In an attempt to win some of his daughter's trust back, Malcolm answered every question she asked wholly truthful for once. Unfortunately, he said that only the pair participating in the trial and their respective witness were told the secret location. As he had been neither in the past, he had no idea of its location, but assumed it was somewhere close to Nanda Parbat.

But searching for one specific mountaintop in the area around Tibet wasn't Felicity's idea of fun, especially when she had no clue what she was searching for.

She had tried hacking every database, government, secret organisation and satellite she could think of, but nothing had helped.

"Why can't this League have a website that says 'Hi! You wanna find us? Come to this mountaintop! Participating in a trial of combat? Go to this hill!'." Felicity snorted. "There exists very simple sites, where your own website is only one simple click away. Simple as that! Can't be that hard, can it? Even people who haven't lost their baby teeth yet can make their own page. So why can't the _legendary_ League of Assassins do it? I mean sinceriously!"

Diggle's confused face appeared from behind a laptop.

"What was that last one?" he asked in an amused tone.

"Just some word I made up. Smashed together sincere and seriously. You know, a person being both sincere and serious at the same time. So instead of saying two separate describing words, I can say one: sinceriously. Trying to cut down on my rambling you know, and one way is have fewer words in my sentences!" she explained proudly.

Diggle giggled. "There is just one problem with your idea. You just needed about a thousand other words to describe your newly invented one. So instead of two words, you needed one plus a long explanation." he jokingly teased her.

"Oh... But... Well... The word has actually been in dictionaries for a couple of years already, so it can't be my fault if people haven't kept up with the language development. Actually I believe more people should-" she begun before being cut of.

"Felicity!" Roy exclaimed from behind the table filled with documents, gaining her attention. "John was only _joking, _you know."

Next to him, Thea had to cover her mouth with her hand to not laugh out loud. Dig had in the meantime ducked behind the computer screen again, trying to silence his own outburst of laughter, while Roy bit his smiling lip.

However, Felicity's gaping and O-shaped mouth; making her look very much like a cartoon goldfish, was the drop that made the goblet overflow.

Thea, Roy and Diggle all burst out laughing. It took less than three seconds for Felicity to join in as well.

This was the first time in these past three weeks that they had all managed to let go of the tension for just a minute to have fun over something; to simply have a great laugh together like friends are suppose to.

For a very short moment, all problems in the world were gone for the four of them.

That status quo wouldn't last long however, because that very moment the two League-members Rohe' and Sarab arrived in Starling City to dispense justice for a fallen assassin.

* * *

**A/N:** _"The drop that made the goblet overflow." is a literal translation of a Swedish saying. The English equivalent is "The straw that broke the camel's back", but as I like the Swedish expression better, I used the translation of it. ;)_


	10. Chapter 10 - The weakest link

**Chapter 10 - The weakest link**

Nyssa had been in Starling City for over three weeks now; ever since she overheard Roy and Thea discuss the murder of her beloved Sara. She had somehow managed to curb her outburst of rage long enough to not attack the girl at that very moment, but it had been unfathomably hard.

With this new piece of information, the motive behind Oliver Queen's actions suddenly became crystal clear. Nyssa knew the Arrow would give his life to save his city, but it took Oliver Queen to sacrifice himself for his sister. Protecting one's family is definitely one of the few reasons to die for a crime one hasn't committed.

Instead of being rash, Nyssa tried to be patient – like Sara – and had remained in Starling City to keep a close eye on all of them and to plan her revenge.

Having to restrain herself _again_ – when she had spotted both Merlyn and Thea in the same room – had been one of the most difficult things she had ever done. Her heart wanted to swing in and bring them both down, but her mind was smarter than that. Two against one was more than she could handle; at least when one in the pair was the Magician.

Even if the wait and reconnaissance had been tormenting, her father Ra's al Ghul had sent word back and promised her justice. Apparently he had sent Sarab together with a reborn and brainwashed Arrow to back her up. This meant the time for justice was now near. Nyssa could almost smell the murderers' blood flow in the streets already.

The three assassins met up outside of Verdant.

At first it had been difficult for Nyssa to fathom what a different person Oliver Queen had become. It was suiting that he had been given a new name, because it was like the person standing in front of her was either a clone or a twin; completely devoted to serve the League of Assassins with no previous memories what so ever.

The trio took some time to stake out the premises around the club from a nearby roof.

"Watching them, I have found that the easiest thing to do is grab the girl when she is alone. She has been taught to fight, but only the basics." Nyssa said and then stared at the entrance to the building. "Her _friends_ will likely try something heroic, but they don't pose much of a threat. If they interfere, we will take them out as well. Her father – a defector of the League – is the greatest challenge. He will definitely come to her rescue, but the kid is his weakness. That will give us opportunity to dispose of them both."

"Your plan is good," Rohe' said before turning to face her. "But there is an even easier way. Grab the weakest link in the chain, and the rest will be forced to come along as well."

"Wasn't that what I just suggested...?" she replied sceptically.

"Partially. But you've forgotten one important thing. Friends can also count as family. If these people are such a tight team as you claim, go for the one without _any_ combat training. Let's take the computer-hacker-girl Felicity. The others won't jeopardize her safety, which will give us the advantage."

His eyes were completely dead. There were no traces left at all of Oliver Queen. The people he discussed could just as easily have been sacrificeable chess pawns and definitely not the closest people in his life.

Nyssa was slightly shocked. She had never doubted her father's methods, but was still surprised that he had managed to convert Oliver into such a faithful League-member this quickly.

However, his suggestion was the best strategic move out of the two. If Thea possessed even part of the pure heart Oliver had, she too wouldn't let someone innocent die in her place. If they controlled the daughter, they also controlled the father. Nyssa could only agree with the suggestion, but silently cursed herself for not thinking of it first.

Sarab observed the discussion, but said nothing. He was deep in thoughts; having split opinions about what was happening. He himself had always placed family first, and would have made the exact same sacrifice Oliver did, if it had been one of his family members on the line. He believed that the young man was a great contribution to the League, but to watch as he helped plan the assassination of his own sister – without even having the knowledge of it – was just wrong.

"That's her." Nyssa hissed as Felicity exited the building, pulling Sarab momentarily out of his thoughts.

During their stakeout they had watched the four arrive in a joint band. Roy, Diggle and Thea had then come and gone multiple times, but always at least in pairs. This was the first time any of the four had been alone. Even more suitable was the fact that it turned out to be their target who appeared on her own.

Oliver hadn't shown recognition for anyone in the quartet when they passed earlier, and now he stared down from the roof towards Felicity like a lion hunting a gazelle on the savannah.

As Felicity rounded the corner and headed into the alley where she had parked her car, the three assassins made their move. Simultaneously they jumped down; two in front and one behind.

Felicity was given quite a fright when Nyssa together with another masked assassin appeared from out of nowhere, blocking her way. It took about two seconds for her to gather herself and ask the question that had lingered on her mind twentyfour seven the last couple of weeks.

"Nyssa. Where is Oliver...?" Felicity asked, even though she was horrified to know the answer.

"He's dead." she boasted and smirked as Felicity visibly paled. "But we're not here about that. We've come for you."

As that last sentence registered in Felicity's mind she froze. She then spun on the spot, only to find a third individual invading her personal space; also dressed completely in black with face hidden.

She was completely surrounded.

The man grabbed a firm hold of her left arm. In an attempt to break free, Felicity swung a right hook at the individual's face. Her nails managed to claw away the disguise hiding the man's identity.

"OLIVER?!" Felicity gasped and stopped struggling.

The man stood rigid and unresponsive like a statue. The face was definitely Oliver's, but it was as if the eyes belonged to someone else. He stared emotionless back at her with such a cold gaze that her neck hair rose.

"Oliver...? It's me; it's Felicity!" she tried again, while placing her trembling hand on his cheek.

His lips slowly parted. Felicity thought for a moment that she had reached through to him, but was gravely mistaken.

"Oliver Queen... is dead. He was killed for betraying the League. Now will I – Rohe' Nool – together with my companions be the bringers of justice to Starling City."

That was the last Felicity heard before she felt a sharp sting in her neck. Her hand immediately found what caused it; a tiny arrow. A numb sensation radiated out from that area and quickly spread throughout her body.

"N-no... Ol...i...ver..." she mumbled, staring into his lifeless eyes.

That was the last thing she saw before the whole world became blurry. Everything then tilted to the right while simultaneously vanishing into a black mist.

* * *

**A/N:** _Stephen Amell posted his definition of the word "sinceriously" today on Facebook, but the definition in the story will remains as "sincere &amp; serious"… ;) _


End file.
